This past September, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) — a division of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) — took action to combat the nation’s ongoing opioid crisis with updates to FY25 funding. State Opioid Response (SOR) and Tribal Opioid Response (TOR) grants support vital resources such as prevention campaigns, overdose reversal measures such as naloxone, and programs for treatment and recovery including medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD). The newly announced allocation totals more than $1.5 billion across all US states and territories, as well as 138 Tribal regions.
“It has never been more important to comprehensively address the disease of addiction and the root drivers of this crisis… State and Tribal Opioid Response funding provides critical resources to help prevent addiction, provide evidence-based treatment, and support long-term recovery and sobriety.”
—SAMHSA Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Dr. Art Kleinschmidt
Key Points
The SOR and TOR grant programs were established by SAMHSA in 2018. Reports from states, territories, and tribal areas since then indicate that:
- More than 1.3 million people have received treatment services
- More than 650,000 people have received MOUD for treatment
- Approximately 1.5 million people have received recovery support
- Approximately 10.2 million naloxone kits have been distributed, which have saved over 550,000 people from fatal opioid overdoses
In addition to these quantitative successes, HHS also observed significant qualitative improvements for people receiving support through these grants. Participants in the SAMHSA-funded programs reported:
- Housing stability
- Employment stability
- Educational progress
- Increased social connection
- Decrease in overall substance use
- Less depression, anxiety, or other mental health issues
- Decrease in suicidal ideation or attempts
The allocated funds towards these programs are a key component of SAMHSA’s recently released Strategic Priorities, which further support the current administration’s “Make America Healthy Again” agenda. Of note, however: Federal limitations at current prevent SOR or TOR funding to be used for harm reduction programs such as syringe services, safe use sites, and other proven methods to reduce overdoses and overdose-related deaths outside of opiate-related instances.
While headlines are focusing on the opioid crisis, these federal dollars are now exclusively allocated as the only direct source of funding states and municipalities can count on for substance use disorder programs, “totaling about $55 billion distributed across states, localities and tribal nations over 18 years.” The sitting President of the United States has proposed $5 billion dollar fiscal year budgets since 2020. The 2025 SAMHSA budget was proposed at $8.1 billion dollars.
Sources:
https://www.naco.org/news/counties-pivot-federal-substance-use-funding-shifts